Saturday, June 30, 2012

Below are the answers to my questionnaire from the Armenian National Committee of America.

Their questions tend to revolve around Armenian-specific issues.

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(From ANCA)

Below are questions on issues of special concern to Armenian American voters. Please fax or email the completed questionnaire to the ANCA at (202) 775-5648 or anca@anca.org.

1) Will you co-sponsor and support the Congressional Armenian Genocide Resolution?

This is a difficult question for me to answer because it is actually two questions. One...you are asking me if I support Armenia. Of course I do. They are some of the worlds first Christians.

Two... you are asking me to spend time in Congress writing resolutions that I feel are a waste of time. I am a person that focuses on the big picture and the future. I think Armenian efforts are better spent on other goals instead of trying to shame the Turks... because to be quite honest about it ... the Turks don't care! Armenians can't undo what has been done. The Turks murdered your ancestors because they are Muslims, and that faith has nothing but a genocidal hatred for every other faith on earth. They had no compunctions about doing what they did in 1915, and they would have absolutely no compunctions about doing it again if given the opportunity. You cannot compromise with evil....because evil will not compromise with you. Trying to have conversations with them about this subject is a waste of time.

2. Will you oppose "historical commissions" and other efforts to call into doubt the Armenian Genocide?

Again, this is more focusing on the past that I feel is unproductive. I will be happy to read into my comments in Congress that I believe the Muslim Turks are responsible for murdering 1.5 million Armenians from 1915-1923.

I will also be happy to publicly state that I believe that the Muslim Turks are still a long-term threat and intend to do the Armenians more harm in the future.

Of course, you can always vote for my opponent, Adam Schiff, who is buddy-buddy with an organization called "CAIR". They would be happy to tell you that I am silly and wrong, and that the peaceful Muslims in Turkey and elsewhere have no ill intentions whatsoever towards Armenia.

3. Do you support decisive steps to help end the genocide in Darfur?

I would support predator drone strikes on Janjaweed positions and troops, but I see no specific reason to commit American ground troops to fight a Civil War in Sudan.

4. Do you support U.S. aid and other programs to strengthen Armenia's self-reliance?

I think Armenia needs a high-tech, well-trained military to defend themselves from hostile and aggressive neighbors. They also need alliances with other militarily powerful nations to discourage predatory neighbors from acting out.

5. Do you support developmental and humanitarian aid to Nagorno Karabagh?

I support freedom and independence worldwide for all who desire it.

6. Do you support actions to expand U.S. - Armenia economic relations?

Yes, the free flow of goods and services is a positive thing for everyone worldwide.

7. Do you support maintaining parity in U.S. military aid to Armenia and Azerbaijan?

No. I would not vote for one penny of assistance to Azerbaijan, but this is due to my hardliner stance against Muslim nations. I would not vote for one penny of assistance to any of them, because I believe they have malicious intentions towards the rest of the world.

8. Do you support the Nagorno Karabagh Republic's right to independence?

Yes, as I stated before, I support freedom and independence worldwide for all who desire it.

9. Do you support maintaining Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act, limiting aid to Azerbaijan?

If I become an elected official and earn the privilege of casting votes in Washington, my message to Muslim countries will be clear and concise: "I will give you nothing." They harbor ill intentions towards the rest of the world.

10. Do you support legislative and other means to urge Turkey to end its blockade of Armenia?

Personally, I want to break off diplomatic relations with all Muslim countries. I want nothing to do with these people. They intend to do us harm. They are our friends in about the same way the Japanese were on December 6th. One of the first legislative goals of mine would be to eliminate immigration or visits from people with passports from these countries. That would send a very clear message.

11. Do you support linking Turkey's ability to purchase U.S. arms to its progress in ending its blockade of Armenia, occupation of Cyprus, attacks on Kurds, restrictions on Christians, and rights abuses?

I've actually been to Turkey, so I have a little different perspective on this issue. I found the Turks to be arrogant, aggressive and militaristic. They have an enormous chip on their shoulder over losing the power and influence of the Ottoman Empire. Some of the people I spoke with in Turkey actually gloated over what they had done to the Greeks (in Cyprus) and the Armenians. And they also expressed negative sentiments and open hostility towards their geographical neighbors.

The Turks are bad customers. I wouldn't sell them any weapons whatsoever.

Some of my Conservative friends have been moaning about the Obamacare decision and the treachery of Justice Roberts.

I see it as a regrettable outcome, but not unexpected. I think even in a best-case-scenario, there were going to be parts of Obamacare that they would have left standing. I was only hoping they would destroy the individual mandate. And in a way, they did. They said it was unconstitutional under the commerce clause, but it was OK as a tax. A weird read on the situation, but a possible outcome that was foreseeable.

Although some of my Conservative friends see this as the "end of the world" or the "end of America" or the end of freedom, I am not so dour about this development.

This ruling is a temporary defeat in the bigger battle against evil...against Socialism and Statism.

Things have looked bleak before for Americans.

In December of 1777, General Washington arrived at Valley Forge to gut out a winter on the run from the British. His soldiers were starving and some didn't even have shoes.

Over 2,000 of them would die due to the poor nutrition, health, and weather conditions.

The next spring brought an alliance with France, and increased donations of food and supplies.

But for a while, Washington wondered if the Revolutionary War effort was doomed.

Things have been bleak for Americans before.

But we are optimists. It's who we are.

It's what we do.

We can defeat Barack Obama and remove his influence. We can take the Senate and stop the lawless legislating being done.

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

On Monday, the media announced that it was the third anniversary of the death of pop music superstar Michael Jackson.

I thought back to one of my favorite memories of Michael...seeing him up close and personal in concert in London, England in 1992.

I don't remember the exact date, but it was sometime in August of 1992. I was heading back to my flat after having spent some time with my then-girlfriend, a Slovenian hairdresser who lived near Golders Green.

On the way home -- I don't remember if I was on the tube or on a bus -- but I noticed people getting all excited talking about Michael Jackson. They said he was playing in concert at Wembley Stadium. I was nearby already, so I decided to go over to Wembley and see what was up.

I missed the first few songs of the concert. I was hanging around outside the stadium and couldn't find an extra ticket. Then I noticed some American media people leaving. When I asked them why they were leaving, they said it was the third night of a three night stand and they had seen the show twice already.

Thinking quickly, I asked them for their "Dangerous Tour" ID lanyards and passes. One reporter shrugged and said "Why not?' and handed them over. I raced into the stadium and managed to gain access to all different areas -- even backstage ....but eventually I ended up in the front rows on the field level as British fans went absolutely insane.

The way that Europeans and international fans loved Michael Jackson was very different from the way American fans appreciated him. People around me were delirious and hysterical ...sobbing, weeping...passing out from the intensity of the moment.

I was having fun, but not nearly as much fun as they were having.

If you watch the video above, you will see what I mean.

These fans were in Bucharest, Romania... not London.

But it was the same "Dangerous" Tour, just a different venue.

For international fans, seeing Michael Jackson live in concert was beyond their wildest dreams. It was something they couldn't even imagine. Even in their fantasies this could never happen.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

If you ever had any doubt whatsoever that Assemblyman Mike Gatto was a dangerous lunatic, this video below will clear things up for you completely.

In the video, Gatto shows his totalitarian instincts when he shoots down Assemblywoman Shannon Grove in her attempt to argue against a coming vote on an energy bill she does not support.

Grove represents tens of thousands of Californians who live in the Bakersfield area, but according to budding-dictator Gatto, they have no right to have their arguments heard.

Gatto then calls for an immediate decision on the proposal and rams through the legislation on a party-line vote.

Stunned lawmakers were not too thrilled by Gattos contemptuous attitude and behavior.

Assemblywoman Linda Halderman tries to appeal the decision to censor Assemblywoman Grove, but is shot down by Gatto immediately. After the vote passes, Assemblyman Curt Hagman of Chino Hills dresses down Gatto for his boorish behavior and reminds him of the rules of the State Assembly.

But to be quite honest, they shouldn't be surprised at all.

This is always the way it is with the left.

First they don't want to hear your arguments, then eventually, they just want to get rid of you.

In 1979, Saddam Hussein organized a purge of the leadership of Iraq. He called a meeting of 400 of the top leaders in his country -- and in a surprise move -- proceeded to seize total power. He made a speech declaring many of the political figures to be traitors. They were led away by secret police and executed. In the video below, you can see Saddam operating with coolness and contempt as other Iraqi leaders pleaded for their lives.

The contempt for other leaders shown by Saddam is a clear and eerie parallel to the behavior of Assemblyman Mike Gatto.

There is no doubt in my mind that Mike Gatto dreams of his "Saddam Moment"... the moment when he can just seize power and permanently remove the nuisance of having any political opposition whatsoever.

If I was Greg Krikorian, I would make sure that every voter in the 43rd Assembly District got a hand-delivered DVD copy of Gatto acting like a ruthless Iraqi dictator up in Sacramento.

If Krikorian doesn't have the money to pay for the DVDs, he might want to hit up the previously mentioned Assembly Members Grove, Halderman and Hagman for political donations. I'm sure that these Assembly Members would love to see Gatto lose his grip on the gavel of power.

They have seen what awaits them in the future if Gatto isn't stopped in November.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

So Rodney King is dead? Well.. there won't be any tears coming from me.

I did not wish him ill, but King was a loser.

A convicted felon who beat a Korean store owner with a metal pipe during a robbery in 1989.

In fact, King was just recently out of prison when he decided to take police on a high-speed chase while he was drunk and high on the evening of March 2, 1991.

Did King deserve that beating? No.

But if he had pulled over at the start of the incident, the beating never would have happened. He would have had a DUI charge on his record, but that would be it.

If it wasn't for the secret videotaping done by George Holliday, Rodney King would have most likely remained an anonymous loser for the rest of his life.

Instead, he got to kick back and pocket $3.8 million bucks of taxpayer money due to a series of his own poor life choices.

I don't blame him for the L.A. riots. They probably would have happened at some point anyway. He was just the flashpoint. And without that video, again, he probably continues on to be a low-rent loser for the rest of his life. But after that video he became a cause celébre, and a footnote in American history.

There might be some people who will mourn him today, but I won't be one of them.

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Something special happened the other day when I was watching the 2012 European Championship.

The Irish team was getting pounded by Spain. The score was 4-0 in the final ten minutes of regulation and Ireland had absolutely no chance to win against the talented Spaniards, who announcers agreed was one of the best teams of all time, having won the 2008 European Championship and the 2010 World Cup back to back.

The Spanish had actually let their foot off the gas pedal and were killing the clock for the last few minutes of the game. Irish fans who had traveled to Poland and the Ukraine to watch these games knew their team was finished -- they were beaten, eliminated from the Euro 2012 Championship early in the tournament, and they were going home.

Then, suddenly, these Irish fans perked up and started cheering. No, they started screaming.

They were belting out some song. I didn't know the lyrics or what it was all about.

As the last few minutes of time ran out, the song got louder and louder. Some stunned announcers (video above) simply stopped commentating about the game and let the scene play itself out.

I even backed up the DVR to take these photos (above).

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Their team was getting destroyed by Spain, yet they had so much love in their hearts. So much joy and appreciation for their team even trying to beat these magnificent Spaniards. I'm not even Irish, but I suddenly liked these people a lot.

It was surreal. Even the Spanish fans cheered them on.

I later learned that the song is called "The Fields of Athenry" and it has become kind of an unofficial national anthem in Ireland. It's not a happy song. It's about suffering, starvation, and incarceration. But the Irish, as is their style, have taken this song to be their own personal anthem.

Five years from now, I won't remember the score of this game. But watching those Irish fans celebrate so joyously in the face of such a crushing defeat....well, I'll remember that for the rest of my life.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Yesterday, I met with local writer Joseph Mailander to do my first interview as the Republican Nominee for Congress from the 28th District. The interview had a lot of depth to it, and went on for quite some time. We touched on a variety of subjects, including the recent defeat of Carmen Trutanich in the District Attorney election.

I mentioned to Mailander my shock at the result. I told him that never in a million years could I have imagined a situation where I would still be in the November election, and Nuch would be out! We briefly covered some of the reasons. I explained to Mailander that I had nothing against Alan Jackson -- and I suspect I would agree with him more closely on ideological matters -- but my support for Carmen Trutanich was based on a personal friendship that evolved on the campaign trail for City Elections back in 2008-9.

It is difficult for some people to remember now, but Nuch was practically a hero in that election. Jack Weiss was widely despised by many of his own voters in the 5th Council District. Neighborhood activists were desperate for a good guy to take out the black-hearted Weiss.

If you look at the above video, it is from one of Ron Kayes SLAP meetings in 2008. A politically-driven community activist get-together that had a large influence on the 2009 election. It was small meetings like this that let the voters get to know these candidates on an up-close and personal basis. And it helped mobilize public opinion against Measure B, a solar-energy scam which went down to defeat at the polls.

The very same Ron Kaye who eventually became a big critic and detractor of Carmen Trutanich can't say enough good things about him back in this 2008 video. The irony that Ron Kaye is listed in many media sources as one of the contributing factors to his defeat should not be lost on Carmen Trutanich.

Mailander seemed pleased that Trutanich was out. He asked me if I thought Nuch could recover. I said he could, as long as he followed a better path. Politics is filled with second acts and recoveries from near-death experiences. Yes, Carmen "Nuch" Trutanich can recover and be re-elected as City Attorney.... if he follows better advice. He needs to rehabilitate his political image. I will give him the following consulting advice for free.

STEP 1: FIRE JOHN SHALLMAN

Sorry, Nuch, but John Shallman needs to go. He gives bad advice, takes way too much money, and loses elections for people. Why he is even considered a good consultant is beyond me. He got lucky with the first Nuch campaign in 2009 because Jack Weiss was so hated by his own voters. He also got lucky with Wendy Greuel because she ran against underfunded opponents that were not well known. The next Titanic-like campaign of Shallmans was his sinking of the U.S.S. Christine Essel in the city special election for Council District 2.

Shallman somehow got Essel to blow over one million dollars on a City Council race ...and lose! Essel is a charming lady with a sparkling personality. She was a hundred times better than The Dark Lord, Paul Krekorian. If Essel had spent her time calling voters instead of donors, she wouldn't have lost that election by a few thousand votes. Christine Essel should have been knocking on doors and knocking voters out with her charm. Instead, Shallman had her chained to a desk, calling people from outside the district and asking for big money donations.

Shallman then went on an idiotic tirade of sending 157 mailers to each voting household. Shallman doesn't understand that there is a pain threshold with political campaigning that starts to produce diminishing results. If voters weren't voting for Christine Essel after the 10th mailer, they sure as hell weren't voting for her after the 100th mailer.

(Memo to Wendy Greuel: You need to dump Shallman, too. You will not be lucky enough to run against Nick and Suzy in 2013. You will face heavy hitters like Eric Garcetti and maybe Zev Yaroslavsky. Shallman will bankrupt you, and make sure that you lose)

STEP 2: A LISTENING TOUR

Nuch needs to go on a "listening tour" -- as Hillary Clinton likes to call it. He needs to start going back to these small local meetings with only 50 people in the room. He needs to address where he went wrong. He needs to ask for criticism, and let voters yell at him a little bit...to address their frustrations. He needs to be humble.

For those of you out there celebrating Nuchs defeat in the DA race, he only fell behind Alan Jackson by a 1% margin. If he had shown up at some of these forums, the lack of respect for the voters he showed would not have been a factor in the election. That 1% suddenly looks very troubling to me when I hear about these events. It is much more difficult for your opponents to call you "a liar", "a cheat", and "an animal" if they have to be in the same room as you.

It was an unbelievable tactical error to not show up. It offended voters.

STEP 3: BRING BACK THE OLD NUCH

Yeah... the rising rock star that beat Jack Weiss. He is still in there somewhere, and he can come back out again. After a few months of mea culpas to the local community members, Nuch needs to bring back out the old Rock Star Nuch. The guy who people couldn't wait to vote for back in 2009. Remind voters of who he is and how hard he is fighting for this city. Show them the results he has achieved. Make a big splash in the media.

(I'm personally rooting for an arrest of Jan Perry, Tony Cardenas, or Richard Alarcon.... but first things first)

Remind voters of why they picked you in 2009. Some of the voting constituencies are probably not recoverable. The marijuana crowd only wants to bury the hatchet if they can plant it in Nuchs back. But that is the price tag of being in law enforcement. You ruffle a few feathers.

Nuch has no reason to fear Mike Feuer.

Hell, Mike Feuer lost to Rocky Delgadillo.

Nuch can recover from this loss and be re-elected, but he needs to make an effort to rehabilitate himself, politically. It won't be easy, but it can be done.

Saturday, June 9, 2012

I firmly believe that Betsy Butler is going to lose her November election for State Assembly.

I have several reasons for believing this.

1) Butler annoyed voters with too much mailing in her campaign. As a result, she only pulled in about 25% of the vote in the primary. She also pulled the "plastic baby bottle" stunt, which was just outright weirdness.

2) Her opponent, Mayor Richard Bloom of Santa Monica, has a powerful support base of voters built in.

3) Bloom also stayed out of the Betsy Butler/Torie Osborn dustup, which led to some hurt feelings in the Osborn camp.

4) I believe most Osborn voters will tend to go to Bloom, out of animosity towards Butler.

5) Bradley Torgan has a decent crowd of supporters, and I believe somewhat over 50% of them will go to Bloom, giving him the numbers he needs.

Thursday, June 7, 2012

I came to a sudden realization yesterday that a candidate that I'm not so fond of might turn out to be my best buddy in the whole world.

I've been pretty clear about my lack of enthusiasm for the candidacy of Mitt Romney. I have some severe ideological differences with him, and I'm not so fond of some of his flip-flopping in the past. However, he will be the party standard bearer in the fall election, and if I want Obama out of office, I have no choice but to support Mitt Romney.

Do I think he would be a great President? Well, that is difficult to say.

I am certain he would be better than Obama...and for now, that is all I ask of him.

One thing that has been very impressive about Romney is his fundraising and his organization.

I realize that I might get a "ride-along" with Romney if he spends money in California.

His volunteers might get more voters to the polls. That would help me.

If he starts winning the election early...if he's up by five points in the polls and wins Virginia, Florida and Ohio early, discouraged Democrats in California might not bother to go to the polls. That also helps me.

The old adage "Politics makes for strange bedfellows" is an adaptation of a Shakespearean quote.

And if I end up rooting like crazy for Mitt Romney this fall, the irony will not be lost on me.

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Polls opened just minutes ago here in California for our Presidential primary, which hasn't been helped by the fact that the primary process now seems like an afterthought, having been settled a while ago.

The general election will pit Mitt Romney, the moderate Mormon from Massachusetts, against Barack Obama, a social agitator from the Democratic Party Machine of Chicago, Illinois.

Thrills galore.

I myself am facing an election today. By midnight tonight I should know my fate. It will either be the start of a long, glorious career in politics, or it might be the end of it.

If I lose, would I throw a Nixon-like tantrum and swear off of politics forever?

Probably not. I've lost two elections already, and it didn't stop me from trying again.

Barack Obama ran for U.S. Congress in 2000. He lost by a 2-1 margin. The voters in his District preferred Democratic Machine politician Bobby Rush. But Obama didn't quit. Instead, he tried for the much more audacious attempt at running for U.S. Senate in 2004. He was going to lose that election until a sexual scandal imploded the campaign of his opponent Jack Ryan, who dropped out of the race late in the game.

You can't win unless you try. And you have to keep trying.

Sometimes, you will get a lucky bounce.

Politics is a cyclical, finicky and tricky business.

Things can change in a heartbeat.

Power can shift suddenly.

Both Lech Walesa and Nelson Mandela spent considerable time inside of jail or prison cells, yet they went on to become the unrivaled and deeply admired leaders of their nations.

Yeah, that is exactly how crazy politics is.

In other news, astrological fans will witness the Transit of Venus this evening as the sun sets.

Do I see this as a sign that an astrological phenomenon happens on my election day?

Am I that "once-in-a-hundred-years" political figure?

I don't know. Maybe.

The voters will let me know tonight.

I don't believe in fate, but I do believe in Providence.

I don't believe that it is an accident that we are all here doing what we do.

In another side note, June 5th also marks the long awaited release of "Smokey and the Bandit" on Blu Ray.

Win or lose, I will be relaxing later tonight with a newly-purchased copy of this film.

But with all these things converging on a single day, I can't help but feel that maybe today will be my day.

Sunday, June 3, 2012

One of the reasons that most voters have no faith in their leaders anymore is the lack of moral integrity coming from these people.

We are now governed by looters.

Whether it is Barack Obama handing $500 million to Solyndra, or Robert Rizzo cooking up a fraud scheme in the City of Bell....or maybe even people like Bruce Malkenhorst Sr. (above), who was bilking taxpayers in California to the tune of over $500,000 a year for his pension as former City Manager of Vernon, a city that has about 100 residents. (There is also a photo above of the home of public servant Bruce Malkenhorst Sr.)

Amazingly enough, the incompetent people who are in charge of CALPERS, the state pension system, didn't see anything wrong with this. But hell, they didn't see anything wrong with Robert Rizzo getting paid double what the President of The United States gets paid for managing a tiny city with only 40,000 residents.

I pray that voters will elect me so I can start putting some of these people in jail.

One of my first acts as a Congressman would be to contact the FBI and have them look into the situation in Vernon... which is basically organized crime -- by the government!

Eric Fresch made $1.6 million in 2008 as the City Administrator of Vernon. That's only quadruple what the President makes. Nothing to see here, folks.... move along!

Friday, June 1, 2012

The left always prides it self on being so damned politically correct.

Green. Eco-friendly. Blah blah blah....

Well, Betsy Butler has become "Big Chief Treekiller" because she has been carpet-bombing West Los Angeles with postal mailers while seeking an assembly seat in a new district. The number of trees destroyed by her quest would stun any wild-eyed liberal.

Butler really jumped the shark with her latest mailer.

She's claiming to be the heir to the Cesar Chavez throne...even though there are no farms in her district.